


Reference: The High Garda

by RosalindInPants



Series: Meta Archives [4]
Category: The Great Library Series - Rachel Caine
Genre: Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:40:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23124139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosalindInPants/pseuds/RosalindInPants
Summary: A collection of canon information on the High Garda, with a bit of speculation.
Series: Meta Archives [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1647619
Kudos: 5





	Reference: The High Garda

**Author's Note:**

> Reposted from Tumblr: https://rosalind-of-arden.tumblr.com
> 
> Revised for readability.

**Uniforms** :

  * Black with Library symbol in gold, multiple weapons on the belt, flexible armor built in.
  * Centurion uniform has Horus eyes on the collars (Stormcrow had Horus eyes on the captain’s uniform, too).
  * Vest, underwear, jacket, trousers, socks, boots, weapons belt. Library symbol on collar.
  * Camouflage versions of the uniform exist.



**Weapons and Equipment** :

  * I am not going to try to figure out the guns. There must be a wide variety of options. Some only nonlethal, some lethal, some can do both. Rifles and handguns. Thomas thinks the stun gun engineering is impressive.
  * In war zones, Library teams carry very visible black and gold banners that can easily be folded up and stowed away.
  * Transports: Probably multiple sizes of vehicles. A tight fit for 7 students plus driver and gunner going to Oxford. Big enough for a full squad plus gear at the training ground (who drives there? who knows).



**Squads and Companies** :

  * Jess observes “a full squad” of about 80 soldiers in England. But this is Jess, before he was assigned to the High Garda. Later, Jess says Santi took a half century to Oxford. Inconsistency? Unreliable Jess? Not all the soldiers hanging out around the Translation Chamber actually went to Oxford? After the battle, Wolfe says 12 soldiers died in Oxford, a large enough number to justify changing routes.
  * Squad size: in the training exercise, Jess, Glain, Tariq, Helva, two down, one in a store, three in a defensive position - ten total; also, in Smoke and Iron, there’s carrier space enough for 50ish, Santi assigns four squads to carriers, plus Wolfe and the kids
  * Squad names in Santi's company: Blue Dogs (Blue Squad), Green Squad, Harpies, Shadow Team, Mars One
  * Squads not kept together after training. Once in a company, squads do seem to stay together and develop team identity.
  * Company size: Santi’s has 500 soldiers total.
  * Santi's company symbol: "a cobra coiled around a book"



**Ranks and Titles** :

  * Titles for top position include Garda Magnus, High Commander, Lord Commander.
  * Ranks: private, sergeant, centurion, lieutenant, captain. There are multiple “top lieutenants” in Santi’s company.
  * Contracts available: 5 year starting as sergeant, bracelet color not specified (silver? gold is permanent, isn’t it? So when does Glain get gold?); 1-year starting as private, copper bracelet
  * Veterans call new recruits “Corpse Squads” but not to their faces.
  * Support staff: armorers (in charge of supplies), Medicas
  * Promotions take time? Zara is only “acting captain” in Ash and Quill, weeks after Santi’s defection. Glain doesn’t expect her field promotion to lieutenant to stick.



**High Garda Compound** :

  * “very large, very complicated”
  * Includes bar with alcohol and various things to smoke, tattoo artists.
  * Far enough from Ptolemy House to require a train or carriage ride.
  * Secured gates with guardian statues. Sphinxes on patrol.
  * Single barracks rooms for recruits.
  * There is at least one watchtower.
  * Training grounds include buildings and entire mock neighborhoods. Restricted area at the far western edge surrounded by a high stone wall, only one gate.
  * Huge storage warehouses.
  * Located on a hill overlooking the city. Similar in height to the Serapeum, Lighthouse, and Iron Tower.



**Social Details** :

  * Relaxed attitude toward nudity, at least in the context of changing clothes and showering. At least in the field, showering and bathroom facilities seem to be gender neutral.
  * Some kind of rules exist restricting soldiers’ relationships: Jess and Glain both have concerns about rumors spreading that they’re sleeping together. Maybe officers can’t sleep with privates? Recruits in training aren’t supposed to date? There does _not_ seem to be any restriction on soldiers and Scholars dating. Wolfe doesn’t think twice about asking to have the soldier he’s falling in love with permanently assigned to work with him.
  * Soldiers are expected not to ask questions about their missions
  * “’No messages on missions.’ Jess should have known that.” Standard policy?
  * Library rules have High Garda outranking Scholars in transit and combat, Scholars outrank High Garda otherwise.
  * Tattoos are common.



**Named Minor Characters** :

  * Costigan
  * Rijuta Khanna (“a small Indian woman”, Morgan’s guard)
  * Yeva Dudik (taller, broader, East Asian, Morgan’s guard)
  * Shi Zheng (recruit in Glain’s squad)
  * Captain Feng (probably in ex-Archivist’s pocket)
  * Helva Svensdotter (Scandinavian, recruit in Glain’s squad)
  * Zelalem (tall, thin, Muslim, recruit in Glain’s squad)
  * Garrett Wu (recruit in Glain’s squad )
  * Violet Bransom (sturdy and muscular woman, recruit in Glain’s squad)
  * Sergeant Reynolds (prison guard in Rome, acquaintance of Santi’s)
  * Wu Xiang (Blue Dog)
  * Phoena (Blue Dog)
  * Ariane Daskalakis (prisoner with Wolfe)
  * Sarven (Blue Dog)
  * Vickers (English, with Santi in Stormcrow)



* * *

**Speculation and Headcanons** :

  * Mazeem (thegreatlibraryfangirl) made the interesting suggestion that Jess’s observation of 80 soldiers in a “squad” might suggest that as in ancient Rome, a century is made up of 80 soldiers and 20 support staff. Some possibilities for handling support staff:
    * Integrated into each company, either in their own squads or as members of fighting squads. At least some, like Medicas, must be, they would need them on missions. A Medica might fit in with a squad specializing in rescue operations. Maybe a dedicated squad for building and fortifying camps? When stationed in Alexandria, company support staff get assigned to work with whatever servants are employed on base?
    * Outside the company, brought along on missions as needed, but not organized into squads or given ranks. Probably some like this for tasks that they usually don’t need people for outside the High Garda base?
  * Uniform variants: The standard black and gold is used for most duties: policing in Alexandria, walking into war zones to collect books, etc. Camouflage versions for more secretive operations. There must be a dress uniform. Probably black and gold with more ornamentation?
  * Usual weapons: handgun, rifle, combat knife. Handgun has stun and kill settings. Not everyone gets to carry Greek fire, maybe only specialists and high-ranking officers? Santi frequently seems to have it on hand, but Jess and Glain never do.
  * Company composition: 500 soldiers. 5 centuries. Each century has 10 squads, 50 squads total. Numbers of officers might vary a bit, but with lowest ranks possible, it would be 50 sergeants as the squad leaders, 5 centurions, two lieutenants, one captain. Santi’s company skews higher on the ranks, with at least a few squad leaders as lieutenants, so probably more centurions and sergeants as well.
  * Squad composition: Ten soldiers, at least one of them is an officer. Squad Leader position is designated based on rank and seniority.
  * Contemplating the abundance of lieutenants in Santi’s company. Some options (leaning toward the first myself):
    * Ranks are awarded based on multiple factors. Promotions automatically come with leadership positions, but soldiers may also be raised in rank for years of service or battlefield valor. Santi has lots of lieutenants around because his company is that good. ~~Does Santi have squads of nothing but officers? Sure, why not. For all we know he has squads of all lieutenants.~~
    * Lieutenant is both a formal rank (2nd and 3rd in command of a company) and an informal term for someone in a leadership position. 
    * There are multiple levels of lieutenant. Something like the US Army having both Lieutenant and Lieutenant Colonel as ranks. One is the top in charge of the company with the captain level, the other is squad level?
  * Squads are usually kept together, but they may be shifted around for some missions, especially if the company is being split up. Squads develop team identity and get competitive with each other.
  * Some squads are specialized. On the combat side of things, some probably specialize in siege weaponry, stealth operations, and so on. There are also specialized support squads: Medica, equipment maintenance, etc.
  * New squads are named by colors (blue, green in canon). Some stick with that name and/or base their squad name on it (Blue Dogs). Others develop new names for themselves.
  * Tattoos: most soldiers get their company symbol tattooed on. Many squads get a squad symbol tattoo as well. Are there century symbols? If so, those make good tattoos too. When someone new joins a squad, the rest of the squad goes with them to get their tattoo and buys them drinks after.
    * Santi has a book and cobra on whichever arm the lion tattoo isn’t on. He also has a cobra coiled around somewhere - leg, forearm? He has a couple squad tattoos from different squads he’s been on.
    * Glain promptly gets the cobra and book and a blue dog tattoo post canon. She’d have gotten them already if there was time.
    * Wolfe has a cobra somewhere. Smaller than Santi’s?
    * Troll has the book and cobra and a very large blue dog.
  * All titles for the top position are valid. Lord Commander is the more formal option, used in official ceremonies. High Commander is more casual. Garda Magnus is an older title, rarely used. A commander’s preferences may impact which one they use more often.




End file.
